In craft beer’s earlier days, the parent company of Budweiser tried to quash the growing industry by taking aim at Samuel Adams brewer Jim Koch.

Anheuser-Busch’s Chairman August Busch III launched an all-out assault on the upstart Boston brewer in 1995 for its practice of contracting with other facilities to brew its beer, which was controversial at the time but now widely accepted.

So, as Koch recalls in his new book, he called Pete Coors, CEO of Coors Brewing in Golden, for guidance.

“I had met him a couple of times and knew him as a genuinely nice guy,” Koch writes in “Quench Your Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two.” His advice to me was likewise to stay cool and take my licks. ‘Jim, what I’ve learned is that if you punch August in the nose, he’ll break every bone in your body.”

As we all know now, it didn’t work. Boston Beer Company helped lead a craft beer revolution in America.

Ahead of a book signing Tuesday in Denver, Koch sat down for a wide-ranging talk about what he has learned about business and beer since founding the company in 1984. Here are edited excerpts from the interview:Read more…

When Jim Koch of Boston Beer Co. announced this week that his flagship Samuel Adams Boston Lager would be available in cans, he didn’t just join the crowd. The largest craft brewer in the country spent $1 million to come up with a special metal vessel Koch believes is better than a standard can.

Will the introduction of the “Sam Can” cause a flurry of other craft brewers to come up with their own designs? Unlikely, since few can come close to matching the resources of Boston Beer.

But the move will likely be felt in other ways — from introducing a larger segment of drinkers to canned craft to nudging manufacturers toward expanding their product lines and pushing smaller brewers to consider different sizes and shapes of cans to stand out on shelves suddenly packed with them.

You thought fireplaces and beers referencing cold places were gone for awhile.

It’s not going to feel like February, and a fireplace blaze may be a bit extreme. But this is Colorado, so who knows? Either way, with a weekend of rain and temperatures in the 50s, you might want to head down to your favorite liquor store — or call around, first — and hunt down a bottle of Samuel Adams’ Norse Legend Sahti beer.

The 22-ounce small-batch brew is based on a Finnish beer called Sahti, traditionally made by women and brewed with juniper berries. The style of beer, according to legend, was found on sunken Viking ships off the coast of Norway.

The deep amber beer, running at 7 percent ABV, broadcasts a pleasant citrus twang, some essence of evergreen that complements the juniper, rather than iris, weather headed our way.

Our new iPad app serves as a guide to metro Denver’s bountiful breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, the holy trinity of craft beer enjoyment for followers and fans. Download the app for iPad .
Next time you head for a beer in Boulder, don’t forget your friend, Beers of Boulder and Boulder County, an iPad app from the Daily Camera. Download the app for iPad .

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In Colorado, our pint glasses overflow with excellent beer. New breweries, new batches, festivals every other week. How lucky are we? First Drafts is The Denver Post's beer blog aimed at helping you keep tabs on the state's ever-expanding craft beer culture. We offer a mash of news, event coverage, homegrown stories, tasting notes and tips to help you imbibe. Expert drinker or homebrewer? Let us know what you're loving about Colorado's beer scene. Not sure exactly what a firkin is? No worries, let us be your guide. Go ahead. Belly up and drink it in!